Alfred looked at Aldren.
Then, as if in tandem, both of them moved, their movents in sync as they flashed towards each other.
The clouds split, the air roared, their bodies blurred.
Several streaks spread through the sky, with constant explosions at certain points where they stopped.
They left charred air in their wake as they flashed across the sky.
The chaos cald and both fighters locked eyes as they stilled.
Again, they lunged, faster, but much more controlled.
Aldren drove his blade forward in a straight thrust aid at Alfred’s throat.
Alfred leaned to the side, letting the blade pass.
His leg launched forward, straight towards Aldren’s chest.
Aldren caught it with his free hand, the air behind him detonating from the impact.
Alfred pulled back, his spear moving forward simultaneously.
Aldren did not dare let his thoughts wander too far.
He swung his sword in a rising upward arc. Aether coursed along the blade as it tore through Alfred’s spear.
Without pause, the blade changed direction, slicing towards Alfred’s neck.
Alfred shot backward, letting the blade slice through empty space.
There was distance between them. Although the distance was aningless to people at their stage, it was there nonetheless.
Two lances ford by his side, one pulsing with an orange glow, the other with a chilling blue.
With a single thought, they tore forward, the air groaning under their combined force.
Aldren sliced through one, then caught the blue one with the flat of his blade.
He looked into Alfred’s eyes for a fleeting mont.
Then he swung.
The lance ripped through the air like an arrow released from a celestial bow.
Alfred was calm, his gaze unchanging even as the spear reached his face.
It dissolved, dissipating into a cloud of blue mist.
Aldren was already in front of Alfred, his sword inching closer to his neck.
Alfred did not move.
The mist of aether around him reford into a red barrier.
The sword connected with the barrier, sending a ripple that spread through its surface.
Aldren withdrew his sword as he felt the searing heat.
Too late.
The barrier transford again, this ti into daggers that whipped forward before they could fully form.
Aldren moved on instinct.
His body twisted even at that close range. The first dagger kissed his cheek as it scread past. He deflected the second with the flat of his blade.
The third, fourth, and fifth passed his sides without touching.
But the sixth caught his shoulder.
A thin line of red opened up across the shoulder and the warmth spread fast.
Aldren leaned backward just enough to dodge Alfred’s fist.
He sprang backwards, looking at Alfred.
’This stupid skill of his,’ Aldren thought as he stared at Alfred.
His skill allowed him to alter the properties of his aether at will without any cost.
It was too broken.
’It even got worse after he trained under Aiden.’
"If you won’t move, I will," Alfred said, his body a streak of gold as he lunged forward, a purple spear condensing in his palm.
Aldren stepped to the side.
The spear tore through the space he had occupied, leaving a thin violet scar in the air where it passed.
Alfred did not stop. The spear dissolved mid-thrust and reford as a short blade in his other hand, already swinging before the first attack was completed.
Aldren ducked, then drove his elbow into Alfred’s ribs.
The impact connected, sending Alfred back a few ters.
Aldren did not slow down. He spun, sword rising in the sa motion, aether flooding its edge.
Alfred moved back once again, another purple spear forming in his hand.
He and Aldren moved at the sa ti, flashing forward as their weapons collided.
They looked into each other’s eyes for a second.
Then the wind caught up with them, screaming past in the wake of their attack.
Neither side stepped back. They pushed forward, matching each other blow for blow.
In one final strike, everything snapped.
The wind, like fragile glass that could no longer bear what it was going through, roared.
A massive vortex of wind ford between them, sucking all the clouds into its centre.
The sky split cleanly for a mont before sealing back almost imdiately, faster than either of them could even register.
They stood in the middle of the storm like deities, unaffected by the destruction they had caused in the sky.
"You know, Light was a good guy," Aldren suddenly said, his voice calm.
"Don’t you dare ntion his na," Alfred said, his voice calm and low.
The threat and killing intent behind it, however, was anything but low.
It seed to engulf Aldren in its oppressive aura.
"Why shouldn’t I? He was my friend, you know," Aldren said, another smile beaming on his face.
Alfred did not reply imdiately.
"He was always talking about you," Aldren continued. "It was annoying. Alfred this, Alfred that. You were his favorite person."
"Aldren."
Alfred’s tone was cold as he called out.
Aldren did not mind. He continued. "He even told about his plans to make you his deputy after he beca governor."
"Aldren."
Alfred’s aether exploded, destroying the vortex between them from the sudden outburst.
"I was angry since that position was ant to be mine. So, guess what I did? I stabbed him in the heart with the sa spear he bought for you as a present."
Those words were the breaking point.
Alfred’s body appeared before Aldren, rolling through the air as he planted his leg into Aldren’s chest.
Aldren spat blood from the impact, but he held on.
It was part of Alfred’s move.
His other leg shot out in the sa mont, smashing into Aldren’s head.
The air exploded, sending a ripple that ford a ring through the sky.
Aldren’s body burst downward, breaking through the clouds as he neared the ground.
Alfred’s body tilted, his head facing the earth.
With a single violent kick against the air, he tore downwards at a speed that made him seem like a divine missile.
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